Like Drinking Poison, Like Eating Glass
by Chantilly.Ink
Summary: A modern P&P. Lizzy and her sister meet Netherfield's lead singer, Charles Bingley. Lizzy is later introduced to his handsome, yet douchey friend Frederick. I think you know where this is headed.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 – _Well you may be a lover, but you ain't no dancer_

**Disclaimer: No, I don't own these characters. I'm not Jane Austen. I don't own any of the songs or movies mentioned, unless otherwise stated. Other than that, enjoy.**

I'd been waiting in the lobby of the county court house for about an hour. My shoulders sagged with the weight of disappointment. I could feel the rush of a thousand heartbreaks. How could I be so stupid? I found the strength to rise to my feet and trudge out the door. My car keys made a hollow clanging sound like my bones. I saw someone leaning against my car.

I should have put my sunglasses on. If I was wearing them, I could hide my emotions a little better.

"Hey, G," his voice was comforting. He could see how broken I felt.

I felt like that scene out of Fast Times at Ridgemont High when the girl saw her brother outside the clinic. Only it was my brother outside the courthouse. "I'm so sorry," I blurted before breaking into a sob. He hugged me close and shushed me. "I'm going to kill him," he muttered.

"Fritz…" I started. I pulled away and looked up into his face. His normally placid green eyes were fiery and livid. He looked into my eyes as if reading a tiny print scrolling across my brain and his eyes flew wide.

"Oh, no, G. No…"

My hands were pressing into my lower abdomen. "I was going to tell him today, and -" he had me in a tight hug and I broke into sobs. "Oh, G…" was all he could say. His embrace crushed my body into his and as fragile as I felt, I knew I was safe.

[&]

Pulsing pink, blue and green lights washed over a crowd of dancing, sweating bodies crammed into a tiny venue. Netherfield was raging onstage, and Charles Bingley was pressing his lips close to the microphone. His leg tapped in time with the heavy bass and drum beat and he shook his head, flinging sweat off his messy red hair.

Lizzy crouched down just in front of the gate separating the crowd from the stage and snapped frame after frame. She fought the urge to dance and resolved to bobbing her head or tapping her finger along with the beat.

After the set she met Jane outside and felt the cold air blast her sticky skin.

"They were awesome!" Jane said, a little too loud. Her ears were probably ringing as bad as Lizzy's.

Lizzy lit a cigarette and exhaled, "If Anberlin and The Subways were to have a baby, Netherfield would be it."

Jane nodded. "The lead singer is _super_ cute," she gushed.

"You're never going to believe me, but I think he was looking at you."

"Shut up! If you're lying I'm going to strangle you."

"I swear! Maybe you should go creeper and wait for him behind the building."

"You sound like you have experience with that."

Lizzy smiled and took a drag of her cigarette. "Excuse me?" a voice made her turn around, "Can I bum a cigarette off you?"

Low and behold it was a sweaty and smiling Charles Bingley. In her peripheral vision, Lizzy saw Jane stiffen.

"They're cloves," Lizzy said offering the black box to him.

"Fancy," Charles grinned.

"I'm Lizzy," she shook his hand.

"Charlie," he said quickly shifting his gaze to Jane.

"Oh, we know who you are," Lizzy said. Of course, everyone knew about Netherfield and their handsome, rich, playboy front man.

Jane took his hand, "Jane. Lizzy's my sister. She used her high connections to get me in for free."

"I lied to the venue management and said she was my assistant. I hope you don't mind."

Charles was staring at Jane, "No, I don't mind. I won't rat you out." He winked at Jane and her blush was evident even under the dim lights. "Hey were going to a party after this, if you guys want to tag along?"

Jane and Lizzy exchanged glances.

"We told a friend we'd go to her party after the show," Jane explained, rather solemn.

"It's a wrap party for a movie," Charles persuaded.

"No way, is it from Lucas Productions?"

"Yeah, actually."

"That's where we're going!" Lizzy answered.

"Well, small world," Charles was smiling at Jane.

"No, that's just how Meryton works. Small city," Jane was almost mumbling.

"Well then I hope I'll see you there," his smile melted Jane's insides.

"I hope so, too," she smiled.

He thanked Lizzy for the cigarette and left inside. After making sure he was definitely inside, Lizzy and Jane squealed in unison.

"Shit like that does not happen!" Lizzy almost screamed.

"Oh my freakin' God, no way!" Jane was giddy and jumping up and down. Her hands flew to her golden hair, "Oh my God, we _have_ to tell Charlotte!"

A few hours later, Jane's old Volvo glided around cars until she had to slam to a halt at the next red light. She and Lizzy flipped the visors down and touched up their makeup before the light turned green.

"Ugh, I should have worn something better," Jane complained. As if her flirty top and gray tights weren't cute enough. Jane could wear a bed sheet and make it look cool. Compared to Lizzy's long black shirt and beat up jean shorts, she looked as pretty as ever.

"You look fine," Lizzy assured, reapplying mascara.

Walking up to the Lucas residence, Lizzy could see Jane get nervous. The low thump of a steady bass vibrated against the walls and they made their way inside. The Lucases were close family friends, and always had the coolest parties. They owned a production company and just finished up an indie film. They suggested Jane's work as an aspiring clothing designer and helped get her a job in the costume department.

After getting drinks at the bar they wandered until they found Charlotte.

"You'll never guess what happened," Lizzy said.

"You found religion?"

"There's no saving Lizzy," Jane laughed.

"Shut up. So I was photographing Netherfield and I noticed the lead singer checking Janie out and we met him outside. He said he was coming here and he hoped to see Jane."

Charlotte lifted one of her blonde eyebrows, "Well, yeah. His band did the music for the movie."

"Oh." Jane and Lizzy felt dumb. Of course, they should have known that. Durr. Charlotte laughed, "He got here like an hour ago."

Jane blushed and fiddled with her glass before Lizzy and Charlotte exchanged glances and pulled Jane along in search of the lead singer. They found him talking with a tall, skinny girl with hair dyed to an unnatural shade of red. Her pink top, skinny jeans and wedge sandals screamed designer. Charles turned his head to scan the masses and his gaze fell on Jane. He smiled wide and waved, starting to walk towards the three girls.

"Be cool," Charlotte murmured to Jane who looked at Charles with dreamy eyes.

"Hey, I was hoping I'd see you again," he beamed. He shoved his hands in his pockets and Lizzy noted that when he wasn't swooning hearts on stage, he seemed kind of bashful and nervous.

"Janie and Lizzy and me have been friends since we were little," Charlotte said, saving Jane before she fell into an awkward silence.

"That's cool! This is my sister," he motioned to the tall redhead, "Caroline." Caroline's slate blue eyes raked from Lizzy's messy hair to her tattooed arm and move down to her beat up Vans. _Snob_. Caroline's handshake was limp like a dead fish, like they weren't worth the energy.

"And this is my friend," Charles continued, gesturing to a man on his left.

"Frederick Darcy," the man said in a deep voice. Charlotte took his hand while Lizzy checked him out. Dark brown hair fell into his green eyes and curled behind his ears like he was in need of a haircut. He had a five o'clock shadow, broad shoulders and was a good foot taller than Lizzy. She felt butterflies in her stomach and smiled as charmingly as she could at him.

"I'm Lizzy."

"Frederick," he gave her a firm handshake, greeted Jane then looked away with an uninterested look on his face.

"So what do you do?" Charles was asking Jane.

"I'm a clothing designer in theory, but I got a job in the costume department for the movie," her tone indicated she was warming up to Charles. Finally.

"Rad. Caroline's a model, that's the closest I've come to the fashion world," he explained but didn't acknowledge his sister. He had eyes only for Jane, and not in a sleazy way. "How long have you been designing clothes?"

"Since high school," Charlotte interrupted, "she made mine and Lizzy's prom dresses."

"That's so cute," Caroline chimed in, but her voice lacked sincerity. Lizzy wanted to tell her to kick rocks.

Jane and Charles fell into easy, nervous, flirty conversation and Caroline watched them carefully before turning her attention to Lizzy. "And what do _you_ do?"

"I'm a photographer. I work part time for a music magazine and part time at a local photography studio. We specialize in school portraits mostly."

"Two jobs? That's so diligent of you," her smile was demeaning and her eyebrow lifted.

Lizzy did her best to channel Angelina Jolie and lifted her chin and squared her shoulders. "Yeah it's not easy, but I make it work. Sometimes when money gets a little tight, I moonlight as a drug dealer. It's risky business, but it pays the bills."

Caroline's jaw dropped and Lizzy took a pull from her beer.

"I love this song," Jane was gesturing to the dance floor outside. D.A.N.C.E. by MSTRKRFT was blaring out of the speakers.

"My parents put this clear cover over the pool so it's like additional dance space. I'm waiting for it to break and for someone to fall in. It'd be so epic."

"Do you want to try your luck?" Jane asked Charles, her cheeks blushing. He beamed at her and nodded. It wasn't like Jane to be so forward with a guy, so she must really be into him.

Charlotte tossed Lizzy a look and leaned her head toward the backyard. Lizzy nodded and turned to Frederick.

"Do you dance?"

"Not really, no." He wasn't even looking at her; he was watching Jane and Charles weave through a crowd of partygoers.

"Is there a possibility you'd want to dance tonight?" She was trying to flirt and was probably failing. This guy didn't seem the least bit interested. That's when she felt Caroline watching but ignored her.

He gave her a small half-smile and shook his head, "I don't think so."

She felt her face fall a bit then shrugged, "Well, I'm not gonna beg."

Charlotte was waiting for her and they danced next to Charles and Jane under green and blue pulsing lights. After a few songs, the DJ turned the playlist into something slower for couples to dance to, and Lizzy and Charlotte left to smoke a cigarette and refill their drinks.

Beer and cigarette in hand Lizzy walked with Charlotte and she suddenly froze in her steps. She saw her parents talking to Caroline Bingley and Frederick Darcy. _Fuck, fuck, fuck!_

She looked at Charlotte who had an equally horrified look on her face, but she was looking at Frederick who was being interrogated by Lydia and Kitty. Lizzy quickly walked over to her family.

"_Buenas noches, Mama_," Lizzy greeted. Esperanza Bennet turned and her eyes lit up.

"_Cariña!_" She kissed Lizzy's cheeks and greeted Charlotte.

"We were just talking about how you," her father said. John Bennet gave his daughter a look to let her know it was nothing outrageous. Yet. Esperanza Bennet had a problem of trying to fit into crowds that were out of her league and ended up bragging and exaggerating. Trying to make herself seem important. In truth, she wasn't that bad. She was proud of her daughters but tended to overdo it and let her family pride turn into arrogance.

"Lizzy is a very accomplished photographer," Mrs. Bennet began, her Latin accent was appealing.

"So I've heard," Caroline said looking at Lizzy, amused.

"_Ay, mija_, I wish you would cover these tattoos," Mrs. Bennet said, rubbing her daughter's right arm.

Lizzy smiled, "My mother is embarrassed by my tattoos because I got them in jail."

"Lizzy!" her mother gasped.

"She's kidding," Charlotte said quickly. "Lizzy got busted_ once_ for spray painting stencil graffiti on the sidewalk and she thinks she's hard."

"Better watch it, _ese_," Lizzy said lifting her fists to the side of her face and Charlotte pushed her fists away, laughing.

Lizzy caught a glimpse of Frederick watching her, but she didn't pay attention. Lydia and Kitty asked question after question about him, like they were going to write his biography, but he hardly gave more than a one word response. The twins had a habit of flirting with the same guy at once, which would probably be any man's fantasy, but Lizzy knew how annoying they could be. Lydia was a walking gossip magazine and Kitty was always breaking the personal-space rule.

Jane and Charles joined them and Lizzy raised her eyebrows and pinched her lips into a straight line. It was bound to be an interesting conversation.

"This must be, Charles Bingley!" their mother said offering her hand. She kissed both of Charles' cheeks and started her gushing about Jane. "Jane's such a fantastic dancer, isn't she? She had lessons when she was young. She's so good at everything she tries. I once tried to get her into modeling, but she didn't want to. My pretty Jane. She would rather make the clothes than be on the runway. She could do both if she wanted to. She went to a fashion school and graduated with good grades and all these awards."

Their mother was desperate to set her daughters up and get them married and settled so they could pop out lots of adorable grandbabies. Unfortunately, the harder she tried, the further she pushed away any potential son-in-laws.

Jane was rubbing her forehead and smiling through her embarrassment. "OK, Mama, that's enough," she laughed out.

"My dear, maybe we should get something to drink," Mr. Bennet started to steer his wife toward the bar before winking at Jane.

"So you're a manager?" Kitty was trying her best to flirt with Frederick. Lizzy almost told her not to waste her breath.

"Yes I am."

"Do you manage anyone we know?" Lydia was losing interest.

"I manage a lot of local bands, no one famous yet."

"That's right," Charles interrupted, "not _yet_. Just a few more years max and we'll be on the cover of Rolling Stone."

Lydia and Kitty took the interruption as a chance to escape. Thank God. The next step would probably involve Kitty touching Frederick's arms and making some over the top comments.

Lizzy and Charlotte slipped off around the corner behind a hedge and lit up cigarettes.

"I think Charlie really likes your sister."

"Yeah, they're all cute and bashful."

"His friend is pretty cute, too."

"I asked him to dance and he turned me down flat. Bastard."

"He's probably got a girlfriend," Charlotte shrugged.

"Maybe. Regardless, talking to that guy is like talking to a sack of potatoes."

"Which you've done?"

"Not the point, the point is, it's a freakin' party and this guy is moping around and being a buzz kill."

"Are you buzzed?"

"A little."

Charlotte laughed, "Maybe that Caroline girl is his girlfriend. She's must be into his money. The guy is practically a millionaire."

"He should go buy a personality." Just then they heard a familiar voice mention Jane's name.

"There's a lot of pretty girls here, but-" here Charles whistled, "Jane is gorgeous!"

"Yeah, she's pretty. Just take it easy, Casanova, you just met her."

Lizzy and Charlotte looked at each other with incredulous amazement. It must have been that douchey Frederick talking.

"Fritz, tell me she's not smokin' hot. She's pretty and nice and funny _and_ talented."

"She's not much of a conversationalist with you," Darcy pointed out.

Charlotte motioned for Lizzy to stay silent before she blew their cover.

"She's probably just shy, I get like that too, you know." A pause. "Her sister Lizzy is pretty cute too," Charles hedged.

"Yeah, she's ok, but she has the social graces of a feral cat. She told Caroline she sells drugs."

Charlie burst into laughter and the two eavesdroppers stifled their giggles.

"I'm gonna make a call to the office, I'll meet you in a sec."

"All work and no play makes Fritz a dull boy," Charles said before the two went their separate ways.

"Why did Charlie call him Fritz?" Lizzy asked taking a drag of her cigarette.

Charlotte looked at her as if she were crazy, "Hello? Frederick Fitzwilliam Darcy?" Lizzy shrugged. "My parents told me Fitzwilliam is a family name, but his parents owned Derbyshire & Co. It's some kind of media company. They have their hand in everything from music to movies to publishing."

"Everywhere but my pants."

"Gross."

The rest of the night, Lizzy successfully avoided Frederick Darcy and Caroline Bingley. Jane and Charles, however, were attached at the hip the whole night. The night ended with Lizzy and Charlotte calling a cab home. Charlotte opened the window and a cold May wind blasted past their faces. The lights bled together and Lizzy leaned her head on Charlotte's shoulder.

"_Do you, don't you want be to love you_?" Charlotte murmured. Lizzy smiled and continued.

"_Coming down fast, but I'm miles above you_."

Together they finished the lyrics, "_Tell me, tell me, tell me. Come on tell me the answer. Well you may be a lover, but you ain't no dancer…_"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Giri's Song

Light slipped between the blinds and slid over Lizzie's eyelids. Groaning, she rolled over and immediately regretted the action. Her head sloshed around and her mouth was dry & tasted like old beer. _Gross._

Slowly, slowly, she sat up and stumbled out of her room and into the kitchen. A fresh pot of coffee welcomed Lizzie and she happily poured herself a cup. Her sunglasses lay folded at the end of the counter and Lizzie smiled at Charlotte's thoughtfulness. Donning the Ray Ban knock offs, she trudged to the patio and flopped down on a lawn chair next to Charlotte.

Charlotte glanced up at Lizzie then returned her gaze to her book. "You look utterly tragic."

"In the morning and amazing," Lizzie croaked, taking a sip of her coffee.

Charlotte snorted and took a drink from her own coffee mug, "How's Janie?"

Lizzie shrugged. "I haven't seen her yet. When did she come home?"

Charlotte's eyes slowly drifted over to Lizzie and they both smiled. Lizzy opened the sliding glass door and peeked at Jane's door. Wide open. She didn't come home last night. "Ohhhhh my goodness," Lizzie chuckled, "I hope she comes home before I have to go to my parent's house. I refuse to go by myself."

The Bennet family always had a family meal on Sunday. A way to keep the family in touch, and today was no exception. Jane and Lizzie had to be there for lunch and it was already 10.

"Well, at least one of us got some," Charlotte said, returning to her book. Lizzie doubted it. Jane wasn't like that. She was too wholesome. Lizzie and Charlotte, on the other hand had their minds in the gutter. The sound of keys jingling at the front door caught their attention and Charlotte threw the sliding glass door open.

"Where have you been, young lady!" she shrieked with a hand on her hip. Jane was stunned then dipped her head. "I was up all night, worried sick! I almost called the cops! I almost took to the streets to look for you myself, but I already took my sleeping meds!"

"You're insane," Jane smiled as she moved to the kitchen to pour herself a mug of coffee.

"The walk of shame," Lizzie announced.

"Nothing happened," Jane drawled. Lizzie lifted her eyebrows suggestively. "Stop! Nothing happened! We talked, I had too much to drink and slept in one of the Lucas' extra bedrooms."

"Did Charlie join you? Did you two have a slumber party with no pj's?" Charlotte teased.

"No!"

"Sister Christian, over here," Charlotte motioned to Jane with her thumb. Once they all had a good laugh at Jane's expense, the details of the night were discussed.

"Ugh, that Caroline girl was such a bitch. I could not stand her," Lizzie said, draining the last of her second mug.

"She wasn't so bad, she was nice to me," Jane said innocently.

"That's because you have the face of an angel. She's the kind of person who surrounds herself with beautiful people and talks shit about them when they're not around," Lizzie contradicted.

"Frenemies!" Charlotte chimed in.

"We have to get ready for mom and dad's," Jane said checking her watch. Lizzie threw her head back and heaved a heavy sigh.

[&]

A monstrous white 1970 Chevy truck roared down the placid streets of Meryton. Trevor Hall's easy tunes blasted out of the open windows as Lizzy pulled up to the Bennet household. Lizzie cut the engine and sat in her seat.

"I'm not looking forward to this," she complained.

"Why?" Jane asked. Lizzie peered at Jane over the top of her sunglasses. She counted the reasons off on her fingers.

"I'm hungover, I'd rather be at the beach and I'm not in the mood to listen to The Banshees."

"Let's get through this, then we'll go to the beach," Jane said climbing out of the truck.

The smell of Esperanza Bennet's amazing home cooking wafted through the doorway and made Lizzie's mouth water. Jane called out for her mother and Lizzie slipped away to her father's office. He'd be there; he was always there. She opened the door and slipped inside hoping to avoid the shrill voices of the twins.

John Bennet smiled when he saw it was his favorite daughter, "Lizzie!"

"_Buenas tardes, papa_," she greeted. Even though he was Caucasian, he understood a fair share of Spanish. Mrs. Bennet was adamant that her daughters know Spanish and started to teach Jane and Lizzie when they were young, but when Mary was born all of that changed.

"Good afternoon," he greeted, kissing Lizzie on the cheek before settling down behind his desk. He cleared a space on his desk so he could see Lizzie without having to peek between stacks of folders. Mr. Bennet was a contractor and was very good at what he did. He made enough money for his five daughters to participate in whatever sports and activities they wanted when they were growing up.

"So, how are you this morning, my dear?" he started.

Lizzie flopped down in a chair and slouched as far as she could. "I'm so hungover. I used to be able to drink like a champ," she laughed.

Mr. Bennet sighed, "Ah, to be young."

Lizzie laughed sarcastically. "At least mom wasn't that bad last night. If anything, I think the twins were a bit out of control. They're so desperate to be in relationships, they pounce on any man available. Like, cougars-in-training."

"Lizzie," her father chided playfully. He knew it was true. He'd given up on reining his two youngest daughters. "Jane seemed to meet a nice young man last night," he observed. Lizzie smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, Charlie. He's nice. I was photographing his band earlier last night and he just so happened to meet us outside the venue and destiny brought those star-crossed lovers together. His friend was a douche and a half, though."

"Interesting."

"Not really, he's a freakin' stick in the mud. And that's putting it mildly."

"Oh, please, don't hold back."

Lizzie sat up and folded her legs beneath her, "Seriously. I mean, he's a good-looking guy, but I asked him to dance and he turned me down flat. Talking to him was useless, he's got no personality whatsoever."

"The first time I met your mother she acted uninterested. Later she told me she couldn't take her eyes off me. All that love at first sight stuff," Mr. Bennet smiled. When Lizzie rolled her eyes Mr. Bennet continued before Lizzie could. "All I'm saying is maybe he takes a school boy approach to girls. He'll push them in the down instead of saying he likes them."

"Or maybe he's just a buttsteak."

"Ever so eloquent. Let's go sit down for lunch before your mother hunts us down."

Mrs. Bennet chattered on and on about the people she met at the party the previous night and the twins, Lydia and Kitty giggled about boys they met. Lydia snagged a few numbers and Kitty actually scored a date with someone who sounded like he wasn't a dirtball.

Lizzie was on her second plate of enchiladas when Jane's phone rang and she excused herself. "Aren't you bummed you missed out last night?" she asked Mary. When Mary didn't respond, Lizzie tapped her shoulder and repeated the question, signing along.

Mary laughed and signed back to Lizzie, "_I'm sorry I missed Lydia and Kitty on the prowl_."

Lizzie tried her best to suppress a smile. "It was epic. How's college going?" Mary told her about her classes and how glad she was to be home for summer break. Mary was mostly deaf and had a hearing aid to help her, but she hated wearing it. She was smart, really smart. She was at a community college but was transferring to a University up north next semester. She didn't let her handicap define and limit her, and Lizzie admired that.

Just then Jane came back looking giddy. Before Lizzie could ask Jane gushed, "Caroline Bingley asked me if I wanted to hang out so I invited her to the beach with us!"

Lizzie looked horrified, "You did what!"

"Charlie is going to be with her!"

Lizzie couldn't be mad about that, but groaned at the thought of spending more quality time with Caroline.

"Don't be so selfish," Jane pleaded, "Take one for the team."

Lizzie glared at her but conceded. "You owe me." Mr. Bennet looked quizzically at Lizzie before she informed him of what just transgressed. "Jane is forcing me to be in the same vicinity as Caroline Bingley, the biggest snob I've ever met, all so she can hang out with Charles."

"Ah," was his only response, before smiling at Jane.

"Jane, you should invite him to dinner next week!" their mother chimed in, daydreams of grandchildren already dancing before her eyes.

Mary held up her hands, "Mama, this is just hanging out, not an engagement."

"One of you has to hurry up and give me a grandbaby," Mrs. Bennet motioned to Jane and Lizzie. Jane rolled her eyes and Lizzie looked at her mother in horror.

"Can we come?" Kitty was bouncing in her seat.

"Only if I can put a leash on you," Lizzie replied.

"We're 18 now, Lizzie," Lydia retorted. As if that qualified them.

"Exactly." Lizzie said with a mouthful of enchiladas.

"Mama!" the twins whined in unison. Their mother gave Lizzie an exasperated look.

"_No estoy diciendo nada_," Mrs. Bennet cut the air with her hands, forcing the girls to settle the matter between themselves.

"What if we just _happened_ to be in the same area around the same time?" Kitty compromised.

"Fine." Jane ended it.

Lydia gave Lizzie a smug smile. "If you weren't so cute," Lizzie said leaning back in her chair, "I'd kick your shins."

"Me?" Lydia innocently pointed to herself.

[&]

Lizzie's feet were starting to get numb as they dangled over each side of her surf board. It was the end of spring and summer was right around the corner, but it was still cold enough to need a wetsuit. Straightening her back she rotated her longboard so she could paddle back in and meet Jane…and Caroline.

Both ladies were in their bathing suits, taking in the sun. Caroline was rail thin, with big, fake boobs. Her stomach was flat, her skin was flawless and her hip bones jutted out making Lizzie feel a twinge of guilt. She was model perfect, like she'd just stepped out of a Cosmopolitan magazine.

"You surf too?" Caroline said looking at Lizzie over the top of her sunglasses. Lizzie was peeling her wetsuit off her arms. (If you've ever worn a wetsuit, you'll know that putting one on or taking one off is the least graceful you'll ever look.) "You never cease to amaze."

Lizzie forced a polite smile. "Where's Charles? I thought he was coming too."

"They're getting coffee first, then they'll meet us," Jane answered.

Lizzie looked at Jane. "They?" Did Charlie have a mouse in his pocket?

"Charles and Darcy." Caroline replied, settling back on her elbows.

Jane looked at Lizzie and silently pleaded with her big doe eyes. Lizzie looked away and focused on struggling out of her wetsuit. "Oh, that's cool," was all she could say. _Perfect_. That douchey douche was going to be there and worse, Lizzie was in her bathing suit.

[&]

"It's just for a little bit," Charlie said, killing the engine to the car.

"It's going to take more than coffee to bribe me into hanging out with your sister just so you can hook up with this Jane girl," Frederick Darcy scowled taking a sip from his venti coffee.

"Well, you're in luck then," Charlie opened his door and waited for Darcy to look at him, "Her sister is with her too. I know you liked her so much at the party last night." Darcy's mouth dropped and Charlie smiled sweetly.

"You're a dick," Darcy grumbled, trudging through sand toward three feminine figures.

"You need to man up, Fritz," Charlie laughed, "You need to put your purse down and man up."

Darcy could feel Caroline's eyes on him. Charles sat down next to Jane, immediately leaving Darcy to fend for himself against Cougar Caroline and Lizzie, the sassy, unkempt, foul-mouthed girl from last night. Lizzie was toweling her hair off and Darcy caught sight of her longboard.

"You surf?" he asked.

She turned around and looked him up and down. "Uh, yeah." She paused for a second and straightened up. "That's how I keep this amazing body." She patted the small bulge of her stomach. She was athletically thin. Her arms were toned, her abs were softly defined and the bottom of her stomach curved out slightly. A drastic difference from Caroline's fake, too-skinny body.

Darcy gave her a half smile and took a drink from his coffee.

"You're wearing shoes," Lizzie said, stating the obvious.

Frederick looked down at his shoes. "Yes I am."

"If the locals see you wearing shoes on the beach, they'll know you're not from here."

"So?"

Jane chuckled, "There's a big 'local's only' movement around this area."

"They smell fear," Lizzie added.

Darcy thanked them for the advice and took another sip from her large coffee cup and realized Lizzie was looking at his coffee. "Did you want some coffee?" he asked.

"Why do you go to Starbucks?" Lizzie asked him, almost condescendingly.

Darcy looked down at the stark white paper cup and shrugged, "Charlie bought it."

"There's a half dozen local coffee shops in a half mile radius, and you chose Starbucks."

"Charlie bought it," Darcy repeated, "I don't exactly have a preference. Coffee is coffee."

"You should support local shops," Lizzie said flatly.

Was she really telling him where to buy his coffee? She was bossy and Darcy didn't like it.

"I know a really great place up the street that has better tasting coffee for a fraction of the price and they have the best turkey and avocado sandwiches in town. Way better than those crappy, bland sandwiches they box up and serve at Starbucks," Lizzy continued.

"Well, great!" Charles chimed in, "I'm starving."

Darcy only looked at Lizzie incredulously. "Seriously?"

Lizzie was pulling a hoodie on, "Yeah. Seriously."

The group walked up two blocks from the beach to Vinaka Café. Caroline hooked her arm with Darcy's and prattled on about parties her friend were going to back in L.A. Darcy tuned her out and tried to think of ways to detach himself from Caroline. Charlie opened the door for Jane and she giggled and thanked him. She seemed nice enough, but Darcy had seen plenty of "nice" girls hang around Charlie so they could get one thing or other.

Sure, he dated a lot of girls, so he kind of brought it on himself. But he was a good guy who tended to fall for girls who were all wrong for him. It was up to Darcy be a good friend and look out for Charlie's best interests and keep him focused on the band.

**Author's Note: If you couldn't tell already, I've tailored the characters to fit into southern California, so Mrs. Bennet is Hispanic and speaks Spanish. Lydia and Kitty are twins, because I felt they were so close and so much alike that being twins was plausible. And I couldn't bear to keep Mr. Darcy's first name as Fitzwilliam, so I changed his name to Frederick. I mean, Fitzwilliam? Really? That's just silly.**


End file.
